Do I ship it?

GamesFPSFPS + Visual Novel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Visual Novel FPS?

FPS + Visual Novel

Of 56 developers who shipped a Visual Novel FPS in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 47 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $15k, ×9.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×506 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 47 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 47 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Visual Novel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $67k → $600k → $21k → $19k → $3.7k → $16k → $14k (still earning) → $7.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Visual Novel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $2.3k (exactly $2,274)
Median $15k (exactly $14,685)
Top 25% $62k (exactly $62,338)
Top 5% $758k (exactly $757,883)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 325
Announced 47
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $0.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 35% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

FPS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Visual Novel
effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
FPS, Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Dating Sim, Adventure, Interactive Fiction
Price point
$0.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Cute, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $0.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 11,125 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.3k, median $15k, 1 in 4 over $62k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.3k. 8 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LGBTQ+Fair28 devs · median $32k · 22 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  3. + IdlerFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  4. + GamblingFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 22 announced
  5. + FaithFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 12 announced
  6. + Precision PlatformerFair37 devs · median $1.6k · 38 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $1.4k · 12 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair172 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  9. + RunnerLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  10. + Action RTSLong shot16 devs · median $899 · 21 announced
  11. + Bullet HellLong shot130 devs · median $629 · 145 announced
  12. + DogsLong shot6 devs · median $594 · 7 announced

All 216 pairs on the FPS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Summer Memories older $19.99 24,113 92% 723k $14M (exactly $14,460,566) Dojin Otome
魔女的夜宴 older $34.99 9,664 98% 290k $10M (exactly $10,144,301) YUZUSOFT
コイカツ! / Koikatsu Party older $59.99 5,298 91% 159k $9.5M (exactly $9,534,811) ILLUSION
Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet older $19.99 15,461 79% 464k $9.3M (exactly $9,271,962) Dimps Corporation
Mirror 2: Project X · EA older $1.99 111,251 24% 3.3M $6.6M (exactly $6,641,685) KAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs
Winter Memories older $19.99 10,365 97% 311k $6.2M (exactly $6,215,890) Dojin Otome
Riddle Joker older $34.99 5,715 97% 171k $6.0M (exactly $5,999,036) YUZUSOFT
Living With Sister: Monochrome Fantasy older $12.99 15,119 69% 454k $5.9M (exactly $5,891,874) Inusuku
Café Stella and the Reaper's Butterflies older $34.99 5,450 97% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,720,865) YUZUSOFT
Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue older $34.99 5,080 97% 152k $5.3M (exactly $5,332,476) sprite, NekoNyan Ltd.
Hello Love: 18 Again $19.99 2,075 92% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378) 念念而忘(Echofall Studio)
Sickly Days and Summer Traces $19.99 1,500 93% 45k $900k (exactly $899,550) Sister Position
DRACU-RIOT! $34.99 722 98% 22k $758k (exactly $757,883) YUZUSOFT
Natsu no Sagashimono ~What We Found That Summer~ $14.99 1,094 87% 33k $492k (exactly $491,972) pekoge-sutagio
NEKOPARA After $9.99 1,198 90% 36k $359k (exactly $359,041) NEKO WORKs
哎呦!这么多美女呀! $18.99 609 91% 18k $347k (exactly $346,947) Hangzhou Miqi Technology Co.,Ltd
Select Oblige $29.99 375 76% 11k $337k (exactly $337,388) Madosoft
Hold Me Tight All Night, Onii-chan! $19.99 411 94% 12k $246k (exactly $246,477) Tinkle Position
City Lights Love Bites Season 0 [Pilot Season] $2.00 2,766 94% 83k $166k (exactly $165,960) NaughtyOba
每日亲亲洛丽塔 $8.99 375 74% 11k $101k (exactly $101,138) 夜羊社

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.